Ethereum Surpasses Bitcoin To Become Largest Network For ‘Trustless’ Money Settlement
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Investors have been fixated on growth companies over the past year, and one segment which has been on the rise is the fledgling cannabis industry. The sector offers a unique proposition and the prospect of further growth, as there is still a major catalyst on the horizon which will completely alter the industry. As expected, a Democrat led senate has been good news for those banking on marijuana reform at the federal level; And it looks like the anticipated changes could happen faster than initially expected. Backed by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senators have stated that they will push for federal-level legalization of marijuana, promising “a unified discussion draft on comprehensive [cannabis] reform” in the first half of this year. The statement feeds expectations that the Democratic Congressional majority will pass – and that President Biden will sign – a bill to legalize marijuana. Investors are also looking at further state-level legalization moves; one key state in this regard is New York. So, the cannabis industry is looking up. There is an expanding network of state legalization regimes, and expectations of a change in federal policy; both are putting upward pressure on cannabis shares. Against this backdrop, we used TipRanks’ database to find two cannabis stocks that have been earmarked as ‘Strong Buys’ by the analyst consensus. Both have posted impressive year-to-date performances, and stand to rise even more in the year ahead. Village Farms International (VFF) We will start with Village Farms International, a company that has long been involved in the niche agricultural business. The company started out as a farmer, producing high-quality greenhouse vegetables year-round for sale in the North American market. That background fit the company well for a transition to the cannabis industry – Village Farms has experience in greenhouse production and industrial-scale growing. Village Farms’ shares are showing a tremendous growth profile, up 327% in the past 12 months – with a strong spike in recent days. Two important pieces of news precipitated the surge since the end of January. First, the company has fully repaid – ahead of schedule – the $15 million debt it incurred during its November acquisition of the cannabis growing company Pure Sunfarms. And second, Village Farms increased its investment in the Asian cannabinoid company Altum by 50%, to hold a 10% stake in the company. The move increases the international reach of Village Farms, and its ability to increase Altum holdings in the future. The company was able to fund these moves because it had a successful equity sale in January, putting an additional 10.8 million shares on the market, and raising US$135 million in new capital. In addition to its strong capital and expansion positions, Village Farms has been reporting solid financial results. The company saw US$43 million in revenue for 3Q20, a gain of 12.5% year-over-year. EPS came in at 1 cent per share, a turnaround from the US$0.10 loss in the year-ago quarter. Covering Village Farms for Craig-Hallum, 5-star analyst Eric Des Lauriers writes: “Village Farms has clearly established itself as the leading cannabis producer in Canada with #1 brand share and industry-leading profitability. Canadian cannabis sales in 2020 through October (latest available) were up 128% y/y, and dispensary counts are set to accelerate through 2021, providing a tailwind to VFF revenues.” Turning to the US markets, and VFF’s position in Canada’s larger neighbor, the analyst goes on to add, “With 5.7M SF of greenhouses in TX, the company also has real US optionality, which is finally being appreciated by investors after the GA election. VFF has historically been undervalued compared to less profitable peers, but we expect shares to continue working higher … as the prospect for US reform increases throughout the year.” To this end, Des Lauriers rates VFF a Buy, and his $25 price target suggests the stock has room for ~26% upside in the coming year. (To watch Des Lauriers’ track record, click here) Overall, there are 3 recent reviews on VFF shares, and all are Buys, giving the stock a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating and showing a general agreement on Wall Street about the company’s strengths. Shares are priced at $19.90, and the $24.33 average price target implies an upside of ~23% for the year ahead. (See VFF stock analysis on TipRanks) TerrAscend Corporation (TRSSF) The next cannabis stock we’re looking at, TerrAscend, is another major cannabis producer in both the US, Canada, and Europe. The company is involved in both the medical and recreational sides of the market, and both grows and produces cannabis and markets a range of products through numerous brand names. TerrAscend’s US operations are located in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Utah, and the company looks to expand as more states legalize cannabis. In a strong sign of the cannabis industry’s strength, TRSSF shares are up a sky-high 624% over the past 12 months. Growth has been fueled by expansion of the cultivation operations in California and Pennsylvania, and by the move into the adult-use recreational market in New Jersey. Last month, TerrAscend closed a non-brokered private placement stock sale, putting more than 18 million common shares on the market. The sale price was C$12.35 (US$9.72), and the offering grossed C$224 million (US$176.3 million). The bulk of the proceeds – some 80% of the total – was put up by four large US-based institutional investors. The funds raised will be used to continue expansion of the company’s cultivation operations (TRSSF has plans to expand growing and manufacturing ops in New Jersey), as well as to pursue merger & acquisition activities. TerrAscend’s rapid growth and strong future prospects have attracted attention from top-rated analysts, including 5-star analyst Eric Des Lauriers of Craig-Hallum (stated above). “TerrAscend is a leading multi-state operator (MSO) in the US cannabis market with top-tier management, assets, and access to deal flow. We have been bullish on the company since initiating coverage last year and are happy to say the TRSSF team has exceeded our expectations, generating rapid increases in margins and operating leverage that have earned them a place solidly in the Top Tier of MSOs,” Des Lauriers noted. The analyst summed up, “[With] US$280M+ raised since the elections and federal reform moving quicker than expected, we think TRSSF does deserve a premium to peers.” In line with his bullish comments, Des Lauriers rates TRSSF shares a Buy, and has a $20 price target that implies a ~31% upside potential for the next 12 months. Once again, we’re looking at a stock with broad agreement from Wall Street’s analysts – the Strong Buy consensus rating is unanimous, based on 7 recent reviews. Shares are selling for $15.30, and their recent appreciation has pushed that price almost up to the $15.43 average price target. (See TRSSF stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for cannabis stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH Set to Spark Above $2,000
Ethereum price is wavering near its all-time high as interest from institutional investors rise. ETH price is also soaring as the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) industry continues to experience substantial inflows. It is trading at $1,745, which is slightly below its all-time high of $1,820.
Ethereum news: ETH has been on an upward trend in the past few months mostly because of the ongoing phase of irrational exuberance. This trend has pushed the currency’s market cap to more than $200 billion. As the second-biggest cryptocurrency, analysts believe that many institutions will buy it to diversify their BTC holdings.
Another reason for the current rally is the huge demand for DeFi projects. The total value locked in the DeFi ecosystem has surged to more than $38 billion. This value was less than $1 billion a year before. This is notable because most of the leading DeFi projects are built using the ETH ecosystem.
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Meanwhile, Ethereum price has risen because of the recent launch of ETH futures by the CME. Analysts believe that this will boost demand for the currency. However, it could also lead to more rising pressure from short-sellers.
Ethereum price prediction
On the daily chart, we see that the ETH price has been rising. And recently, it seems to be forming an ascending triangle pattern. It is also above the 25-day and 15-day moving averages while the MACD has continued rising. Therefore, while the price will see some selling pressure, there is a likelihood that it will resume the uptrend as bulls target the next resistance at $2,000. However, a move below $1,400 will invalidate this trend.
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Ethereum, WETH Now Settling More Value Than Bitcoin
In brief Average daily ETH and WETH transfers of value over the last 30 days equal $13 billion, over 40% more than Bitcoin’s $9.2 billion.
Including transactions in dollar-pegged stablecoins USDC and DAI, transfers were nearly 80% above the value of BTC’s network.
Even native ETH transfers are now nearly equivalent to transfers on Bitcoin’s network.
Ethereum long trailed Bitcoin as the top blockchain network for transferring value, but those days could be in the past as ETH and WETH transactions have surpassed Bitcoin and begun to pull away in recent weeks.
Average daily transaction value of ETH and Wrapped ETH (WETH) over the last 30 days has grown to more than $13 billion compared to just over $9 billion for Bitcoin, according to data compiled by Money Movers and provided by CoinMetrics. (At one point, ETH alone briefly surpassed Bitcoin.)
Another flippening. Ethereum is now settling more value in ETH than Bitcoin is settling in BTC. Ethereum is now the largest network for trustless money settlement. They say reserve currency status is the last to fall when an economic power gets outcompeted. 1 flippening left. pic.twitter.com/W0Wq65Da25 — Ryan Sean Adams - rsa.eth 🏴 (@RyanSAdams) February 9, 2021
Ethereum value transfers began outpacing Bitcoin on January 24 and have been extending that lead ever since, now settling over 40% more value per day on average. It’s another indication that Ethereum could have a leg up on Bitcoin as a functional digital currency suited to the everyday needs of casual users and hardcore traders alike.
Wrapped Ethereum allows the value of native ETH tokens to be traded alongside other ERC-20 tokens that are built on the Ethereum protocol. Ether tokens came before the introduction of the ERC-20 standard, so WETH was developed as a straightforward way to use the value of the native ETH tokens on the flourishing network they helped create. But the value of transactions made in WETH or native ETH are effectively identical, as both are methods of using Ethereum to send value from one place to another.
Adding the value of transactions via dollar-pegged stablecoins USDC and DAI to the Ethereum network increases the gap even further, with nearly 80% more dollar-denominated value being transferred compared to Bitcoin over the last 30 days.
It’s a testament to the growing promise of a Turing-complete blockchain such as Ethereum to process large transactions without intermediaries such as banks. The network can leverage the strength of dollar-pegged stablecoins and a suite of innovative ERC-20 tokens offering new financial primitives like governance tokens or liquidity provider pools.
Even without WETH, stablecoins, or any of the thousands of ERC-20 tokens being traded daily, value transfer from native ETH transactions is nearly equivalent to Bitcoin (about 90%) over the last 30 days. Compare that to a year ago, when native ETH was seeing just 13% the value traffic of Bitcoin, and it’s easy to see how much things have changed. Perhaps one year from now, we could be looking at a new king in the crypto economy.